Connecticutt Government Unions Take the Cake – and Everything Else

Connecticutt government unions and binding arbitration have conspired to deplete the state’s coffers through monopoly bargaining benefits.  A stunning look at what taxpayers lose through binding arbitration. 

Zarchary Janowski has the story in Publicsectorinc.org.

In the aftermath of Hurricane Irene in 2011, more than 100 Connecticut state employees fraudulently applied for disaster food aid meant to refill the refrigerators of poor people who lost power during the storm.

A state arbitrator ruled Gov. Dannel Malloy’s punishment – firing – was too harsh and reinstated dozens of these employees. Instead of losing their jobs, these employees lost two weeks of pay.

The arbitrator’s decision, the details of which remain secret, and, indeed, the decision of some state employees to take advantage of a program intended for the poor are emblematic of Connecticut’s problems today.

Having already negotiated a four-year no-layoff guarantee with state employees, Malloy has few options to fill the growing budget holes. (The projected deficit for the next two-year budget cycle is more than $2 billion.)

The state employees who cannot be laid off also have their compensation locked in, again by the contracts agreed to by Malloy.

This leaves Malloy cutting the safety net programs which he vowed not to “shred.”

Medicaid, perhaps the fastest growing sector in Connecticut’s economy, is even going to be cut a little bit to stem the tide. Of course, this makes perfect sense because state government in Connecticut exists to serve state employees first, at least according to the unions. Many state employees are motivated by altruism, but their unions represent, for the most part, only narcissism.

During the special session, state employee interests were at the top of the legislature’s collective mind.

Outgoing Speaker of the House Chris Donovan organized state employees for SEIU while a legislator, a job he finally gave up when his colleagues elected him as speaker. Donovan’s failed campaign for Congress, influenced by federal charges against members of his campaign staff for allegedly trading legislative favors for campaign contributions, left him without a seat in the statehouse.

Although the government unions lost one champion, another rose to fill the void. Rising House Majority Leader Joe Aresimowicz works for AFSCME Council 4, the largest union of state employees.